The Charons

I had a friend bring me lunch yesterday. It was so nice to sit and visit with someone face to face. This friend and I are in the same boat, just different circumstances when it comes to having more children. I was so glad I could talk to her about how I have been feeling, so Thanks friend. Please come again!

My nightly schedule:

8:00 Bedtime for Barb, I just get so tired lately I call it quits early (my Mom is so happy to hear that I am sure)
8:30-12:00 Crazy weird dreams, more about this below
2:00 am I pump my milk getting ready for Maddy to wake up and eat. With the medicine, I have to pump and dump once that way Maddy won't get as much of the medicine.
2:15 or so Maddy eats
2:30 back to dreaming
6:00 am like clockwork Riley is up for the day, any suggestions on how to make that little boy sleep in?
7:30 up for the day, and the fun begins.

Now about those dreams:

So lately I have been having these crazy nightmares about dying, sounds like fun, right? My biggest fear is that I will be alone with Maddy and have a heart-attack, which would leave Maddy alone until someone would find her (in my dreams it would be like 2 days later) Crazy! So the other day I was telling my friend about my dream and she said that we should do a check-in system. David and I have this system already in place, he tries the house, then the cell phone, then if he still can't get a hold of me he calls my friend. I ALWAYS answer in fear of having police and fire at my door from a 911 call placed by my husband.

So anyhoo... after talking to my friend about it I had to run to Keagan's school for something and on my way home I heard sirens from a fire truck that was behind me, so I pulled to the side and let him pass. Riley shouts, "Mom, there's coming to ours house" I assure Riley they weren't, but they were making all the right turns, very odd. Well sure enough they pull up right in front of our town home. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I called my friend to see if she called 911, she said she hadn't. I get out of the car and sheepishly ask, are you here for me? They asked me what number our house was and when I told them they said, "nope" Whew! What a relief! So when they got the "all clear" they were nice enough to take pictures with Riley.
This is the view from our front door.




So there you go, now you know what I go through every night and the crazy coinsciendence of having 911 called, luckly not because of us.

I think this is a new record for me... i haven't posted in 5 days, WOW! So, needless to say there is some catching up to do. First item of business: Haircuts!

Keagan before:

Keagan after:

(she goes around telling everyone, "it's a bob")

Riley's turn, here is the before:

and the after:


Now for the Maddy update. She is feeling MUCH better, yippee! I decided to actually get her dressed yesterday, my energy levels are low so getting her dressed is just something that is not necessary, she loves her nightgowns. So i put her in a little dress yesterday with my favorite socks of all time!

love those chub cheeks!

and now for the cutest socks you have ever seen:

Yesterday after some dark and discouraging days I got some great news. I can breastfeed Maddy while on my Ace-inhibitor (the medicine for my heart). Yippee!!! This was some much needed good news because I wasn't handling the fact I couldn't feed her, especially if she is truly our last one.

So... Thanks again for all your prayers, we have needed them. Lets hope this good news starts a trend, we could use a break from the 'down and out' we have been experiencing.

So instead of being depressed about all the sickness in our family lately, I decided to make this post a cheerful one by making it a game! Play on!

1. Which child has pink eye?
A. Maddy
B. Riley
C. Keagan
D. All of the above

2.The person with the common cold is?
A. Keagan
B. Barbara
C. David
D. Riley
E. All of the above

3. Nasty cough that sounds more like a bark?
A. Madilyn
B. Riley
C. Keagan
D. Mom
E. Dad
F. All of the above

4. Who isn't sleeping at night because of there conditions?
A. Maddy
B. Riley
C. Keagan
D. Mom
E. Dad
F. All of the above

5. Who has Pneumonia?
A. Riley
B. Mom
C. Dad

6. Who has a big heart (oh this one is easy)
A. Maddy
B. Riley
C. Mom

7. Who is SICK of being SICK
A. Maddy
B. Riley
C. Keagan
D. Mom
E. Dad
F. ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!!!

I'll post the answers on the side, but try to guess first, it would make your day SUPER fun, just like having all the sickness in our house!


P.S. thanks tana for the idea!

Happy Valentine's Day

David came home with flowers this year (no surprise, what a man!) and they were beautiful, red and white. Red is my new favorite color. Thanks Beezer, I LOVE YOU!



Keagan came home from school yesturday and no surprise she had a stash of candy from her valentine's day exchange at school, she was so cute, she pulled out one of her hearts and said, "here Mom, you can use this one until your heart is better" Thanks Keke... wish I could! (sniffle, sniffle)



Here are my two cute little girls this morning, both so darling and pretty in pink!



Hope everyone has someone to say Happy Valentine's to, even if it is the mailman!

There are only 5 words that can describe the last 24 hours:

sad
overwhelmed
lonely
angry
stressful

Thank you to ALL of those who have helped us these past few weeks. Without the friends and family we have had in our corner, life this past week would have been much worse.
To all of you who have helped with our kids, made us meals, some of you just stopped by and helped clean our home, to all we say THANK YOU!
I can't even express the gratitude I have for those of you who have called and said prayers for our behalf, your support has helped get me through the tough times we have been facing and given me strength to face what comes.
WE are blessed to have the gospel in our lives and great people around us and our family that supports us. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

P.S. Maddy was able to come home this morning! We are both very glad to be home.

So this morning Madilyn was admitted to the hospital for Bronchitis, which we now know has turned into RSV, which means she will be there for the next few days... what a bummer. I am sure this is what the doctor meant when he told me not to stress and to take it easy.. YA RIGHT!

Wow, we have been hit with a HUGE storm, and more expected tonight. I'd say we have at least a foot of snow on the ground and 10-20 more inches expected tonight and tomorrow morning. Yikes! We had to drive to Dr. appt's today and it was a little scary at times. My husband kept calling my cell to make sure I didn't have a heart attack, thanks honey.. love you too! (that is how we are handling the situation, with LOTS of humor, what else can we do)

yes, that is a bike under there. you can barely see the seat!

The snow goes to the rail.

Little Maddy has bronchitis and they are going to check her again tomorrow to make sure her oxygen levels are still ok. I went to the Dr. today because I have been so tired and he said that my color actually looked better today and to keep laying low. So no snow shoveling for me, yippee!


Here is our little bundle, literally. The only way I felt ok about taking her out into the snow was by layering her to death! first the diaper, onesie, long sleeve onesie, pants, socks, polyester snow suit, all inside her bundle me car seat, then a blanket and last but not least a bigger blanket over the top!
snug as a bug in a rug!

So besides the fact that it is winter I am tired of all the "sickness" going around. We took all three kids to the Dr. office to find out what exactly is being passed around our family. Keagan and Riley have colds, it's almost a bummer it's nothing more because it's just a waiting game instead of nice yummy bubble gum antibiotics. Maddy is a different story, my poor little 8 week old has double ear infections and a nasty cough. Poor girl.

I have been feeling oh so tired lately, it might just be the snowy days that are making me lazy, but I will be calling the Dr. tomorrow to make sure.

Some good news:

David applied to 12 medical schools, and as of today we have heard from 7 of them requesting a second application, which in the medical world is a GOOD THING. The first application is just GPA and MCAT scores, and if they like those things than they ask for a "second" application. We are hoping to stay around family with our new medical situation, but really we will go anywhere if it came down to it.

Thanks for your continued prayers, and thanks for your encouragement through your comments, it really does help! Love you all.

barb

The worst part Cardiomyopathy is that the chance of making it through another pregnancy is a slim to none chance. So moments like these will only last a few more months....sniffle, sniffle...

So... we got some news last week that they thought I had Cardiomyopathy, and turns out I do. Cardiomyopathy is where you have a swollen heart, it happens to some women after giving birth, so really my heart did get bigger to fit the love I have for this new little baby. What does all of this mean? Well, it means I am on so called "bed rest" for 6 months. I can't do anything and yes I mean ANYTHING!! My doctor's exact words were "I can't do anything that increases my blood pressure or heart rate" So... there is a lot more about it but at this point I am just overwhelmed by what I do know and that is enough.

You can go to www.womenheart.org to support the research into why this happens to women after having a baby.

Thanks for all the support and prayers in my behalf.

Little Maddy is such a blessing to our family, she completes the Charon bunch and we blessed our little bundle this past weekend. Here are the pics from that.
Looking back there are so many pictures that didn't get taken. There is not a picture of the kids and us with her...BUMMER! SO here is what we have